Losing Balance
by CoffeeTea
Summary: Naturally, if he went to the strongest team, he wouldn't lose. He would learn. He would get better. But was it really was he needed? Rikkaidai.
1. Echizen Ryoma's Decision

Losing Balance

Summary: Naturally, if he went to the strongest team, he wouldn't lose. He would learn. He would get better. But was it really was he needed?

Pairings: Undecided yet. RyomaxSomeone (?)

**I have a disease. It's called the CSMTGDNS. What does it stand for? The 'Can't stop making these gosh darned new stories' syndrome. Sad, isn't it.**

Echizen Ryoma's decision.

/-/-/-/

Rikkaidai never lost. Rikkaidai was powerful. So, when it came for Ryoma to choose what school he was transferring to, it was completely obvious. He would go to Rikkaidai, become stronger, and beat everyone at tennis.

And since it was the beginning o the year, he would be able to start school along with everyone else.

It was obvious, and easy to understand. Although, he could've gone to Seigaku as well, but their tennis wasn't as… interesting. It wasn't as challenging. Walking towards the school known as Rikkaidai, Ryoma looked around for any area that he could find to get his schedule for class.

Resting his head on his arms, Ryoma went into a half-conscious and half-unconscious state of mind. He drifted off, only waking up when the teacher had called on him to write things on the board, or recite words that were spoken.

The days rolled by and Ryoma eventually joined the tennis club. But, still, his classmates seemed to give him cold glances and whispers. Afterall, Ryoma was just another kid like them. He just… didn't go to elementary with these people. Ryoma was the wallflower. The smart classmate who kept to himself. It was confusing when the classmates had found out that Ryoma was in the tennis club.

Walking towards the tennis courts, he listened to the Yukimura-buchou. Apparently, this ranking match would be different. _All_ students in the club were required to join, because Yukimura-buchou wanted to see how strong everyone was. Even the first years would participated to join- which brought upon angry protests from juniors and seniors, while also making the first year freshmen worried about how they would survive. They weren't used to playing in real matches- only learning drills.

"And, so…" Yukimura continued talking, "Tomorrow, the lists will be posted up. Remember. The Ranking Tournament is in three days. Prepare wisely." And he smiled to the club. Eventually, everyone agreed that what Yukimura said was, in fact, good for the team's ability.

The next day, during morning practice, to the juniors and seniors excitement, and the freshmen's horror, they saw the listing. At least one Regular was put in a court. That meant _everyone_ had to play a Regular at least once.

"Hey freshmen," A second year boy came up, "good luck." And he walked away, laughing with his friends about how all of the freshmen were going to lose in the first round.

"Aww man," Ryoma heard someone complain behind him- the second year that he sat next to in English, "I have all easy players. C'mon! The only hard one is Niou-senpai, and he always gives me a handicap." The boy pouted. Ryoma looked over and frowned. _He_ was playing against Kirihara.

The next few days passed in a blur, Ryoma was just waiting so he could play a decent tennis match against someone. Too bad Niou-senpai and Kirihara-senpai were in the afternoon matches. This morning, he would play easy people; like freshmen and other juniors who weren't very good at tennis.

"Echizen! Kurukati! It's your turn, so go to court C already." Ryoma heard a voice. Rolling his eyes, he strolled over to the court.

"Rough or smooth?" Ryoma asked the freshmen. Seeing the confused look, Ryoma sighed. "Just choose rough or smooth, and I'll tell you if you can serve or not." The boy smiled, picking 'rough'. The racquet spinning and falling to the ground, landing on rough. "You serve." And Ryoma walked back to the baseline.

Yawning and shaking his head, Ryoma blinked a couple of times. This boy was so… so _weak_. Ryoma had just been using the basics and he was winning. Not to mention the fact that he had ankle weights on and was still using his right hand. Winning this would be easier than he thought. Gazing around the area, Ryoma saw Niou watching his match. _Hmm, he must've finished his already…_

Looking around again, Ryoma saw a vending machine. "Hmmm." He tried to see if there was any Grape Ponta there. Seeing the grape label, he got irritated. Why couldn't this match end sooner? Staring at the vending machine, Ryoma saw something moving. Wait, was that a cat? What? There was a cat on top of the vending machine! It was stuck!

Feeling and urge to save the cat that resembled Karupin so well, Ryoma decided to end the game quickly- not what he had originally thought of doing. But.. cats need to be saved. "I'm doing this…" he muttered to himself, hitting all fast ball aces now, not letting the first year get a single hit, "because I want to save a cat?"

"Game, set match to Echizen Ryoma."

Walking off, Ryoma yawned again. Saving the cat, he heard someone laugh behind him. Turning, he saw the Trickster, Niou Masaharu. "Yes?" he raised an eyebrow, sipping at his ponta. "Do you need something?"

"No," Niou smirked, chuckling again, "I just can't believe you ended the game quickly because of a _cat_." Ryoma frowned, not liking the tone that the boy was using.

"It was only basics." And he walked away. Afterall, Ryoma was right. He hadn't showed anything special. He was just another 'average tennis players' to the eyes of Rikkaidai. But that was okay for Ryoma. Because he didn't want to get involved. He didn't want to be noticed.

/-/-/-/

**A/N: super short first paragraph. I wanted to keep writing, but I had to stop. Okay, so here's where I need your help! I don't know what pairings. So, here are your choices.**

**Main Pair: Ryoma/Niou, Ryoma/Marui, Ryoma/Kirihara, Ryoma/Yukimura, or Ryoma/someone from Seigaku (yes, Seigaku will be in this story)**

**And any side pairings are welcome, too!**

**Review!**

/-/-/-/

-next chapter-

Echizen Ryoma's Tennis.

The match against Niou Masaharu commences! Also, some of Ryoma's classmates don't like that fact that he beat Kurukati, a well-known hottie at school, in the tennis match. Accusations fly around school, and rumors are coming!


	2. Echizen Ryoma's Tennis

Losing Balance

Summary: Naturally, if he went to the strongest team, he wouldn't lose. He would learn. He would get better. But was it really was he needed?

Pairings: Undecided yet. RyomaxSomeone (?)

Discalimer: I forgot to do this in the first chapter, but I do NOT under any scircumstances own Prince of Tennis. I'm not that smart .

**Since school is tomorrow, I'm updating this now (: Yeah, be proud. Written all today, just for you guys.**

/-/-/-/

Echizen Ryoma's Tennis

As Ryoma walked around the halls of Rikkaidai, he heard the whispers. "He couldn't have beat Kurukati-sama." Frowning, Ryoma walked faster. "I bet he cheated." Biting his lips, Ryoma opened the door to his English classroom. It was worse here. They didn't talk. They stared. And they watched his movements. And they…glared. Yes, this was much worse than the whispers.

Looking around the room, Ryoma realized that there was only one pair of eyes that weren't staring at him. It was his seatmate. Kirihara Akaya. Sitting down and staring out the window, Ryoma sighed. So much for being a wallflower. So much for being unnoticed. So much for learning about tennis from the sidelines.

When lunch came by, Ryoma pulled out his bento, only to throw it on his desk in astonishment. What happened? Inspecting the box, he saw tiny needles poking out of it, and a few lumps of green goo on the sides, holding the bento together. Frowning, Ryoma just sat at his desk, unmoving the whole lunch time.

People finished their lunches, and walked out of the classroom, leaving Ryoma alone. Deciding to find out who had pulled a trick on him, Ryoma looked in each classmate's desk. "Hmm." He mumbled to himself. He had found the culprit. _Kishida Koyume, Second Year. President of Kurukati's Fanclub._ "How typical." He sighed, and heard the bell ring. Better get ready.

The students filed into the classroom, each smiling, smirking, and giggling. All staring at Ryoma's ruined bento. Ryoma frowned. "So they were all in on it…" he muttered, unhappily.

"EEK!" Ryoma turned his head to the right, hearing a piercing shriek. "W-what?" The girl was so damn loud. "Who did this?" Kishida Koyume stood up, and glared at Ryoma. "This is all _your _fault!" And pointed. Ryoma looked up to the girl, and gave her a sad look.

"What are you talking about?" he asked quietly. "Why would _I _do something like that to _you_, such a popular person in school?"

"Umm, ah…" she couldn't say anything, just stared at her bag and purse that was covered in green goo. She sat down and pouted, her friends circling around her, exchanging words of sympathy. Although, all of them seemed pretty happy about their _friend_ suffering like this.

/-/-/-/

Ryoma silently walked towards the tennis courts. It was time. He would have to face a Regular. All of the people he played against in the morning were boring and easy. But, hopefully, this match would be more entertaining. Afterall, it _was_ the Trickster he was going against. Even though the boy was said to specialize in Doubles, he should be good at singles, right?

"Echizen Ryoma, Niou Masaharu. Court C, now!"

"Rough or smooth?"

"Smooth, puri." Niou basically purred from the other side of the net. Ryoma shivered. What a strange person. Staring at Niou, Ryoma spun his racquet. "You can serve anyways," Niou said offhandedly, waving his arm around, and walking to the baseline. Ryoma pursed his lips. Strange, indeed.

Ryoma lined up to serve, throwing the ball in the air. "Just a normal flat serve?" He heard from the other side of the court. _How did Niou know?_ "That's no fun, puri." Ryoma resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the attitude that the Trickster possessed.

Smirking at Ryoma, Niou hit back, Ryoma's racquet missing the shot. "Ah?" Ryoma looked up, a spark in his eyes. "So, you're pretty good at Singles, eh?" Niou looked over, scrutinizing his gaze on the small boy. Ryoma's shoulders loosened up, and he glared at Niou. "At least take off your weights."

"No." Niou gave another hard smirk, and hit back the Twist Serve that was sent his way. "Make me." And he childishly stuck his tongue out at the Freshman. Ryoma just glared at him, and scowled. "Or maybe I will…" Niou started, "If you take off yours." And he watched at Ryoma ran and returned his fast ball. "Or you can just continue and be all stubborn like that."

"I'll wipe that…" Ryoma hit back the tennis balls, "smirk off your face." And he hit Niou a Drive A. He heard Niou whistle and mutter something along the lines of 'pretty good, brat'.

It had already been an hour, and the score was 3-2, Niou leading. Both players were panting on the bench, taking a break. Ryoma sighed and took off his weights, although he would still use his right hand to play. Niou smirked again, and took his off as well. "I said I would…" he said, staring at Ryoma.

As they got back on the court, Niou stared at Ryoma. "Not use your left hand." Seeing the look that he received, he stuck out his tongue. "C'mon, you didn't think I wouldn'/t notice? You're a lefty, so use your left hand." Ryoma shook his head indignantly, and glared at the Trickster.

"Yadda." He said resentfully, "You need to use yours too, Mr. Trickster." They both settled for a glaring contest.

"Ehem," a voice broke in, "You need to continue your game."

"Che," and Ryoma watched at Niou copied his Twist Serve. He angled his body, and returned the serve, watching as the ball came back to his quickly. "Did you think that I wouldn't be able to return my own moves or something, i-di-ot?" His arrogance and cockiness coming back.

After another half hour passed, both players were panting heavily, slightly sweating. Gripping his racquet tighter, Ryoma watched as Niou switched to his left hand. "About time," And he switched as well. "I said I would." Ryoma repeated what the boy had said before.

And thus, the real match began…

/-/-/-/

**A/N: Oh, god. Please don't hate me for stopping here! I'm super sorry. Also, as for the pairing , there were lots of votes… okay, so…**

**Niou/Ryoma: 7**

**Marui/Ryoma: 1**

**Kirihara/Ryoma: 2**

**Yukimura/Ryoma: 4**

**Marui/Kirihar: 1**

**Sanada/Yukimura: 1**

**Fuji/Tezuka: 1**

**Fuji/Niou/Ryoma: 1**

**Remember to vote soon, okay? Ohmygod. This chapter actually took me an hour to write. **_**An hour**_**. God. **

**Review! Thank you (:**

******* oh, and remember! **_**I can be a beta-reader.**_** *******


	3. Echizen Ryoma's Adventures

Losing Balance

Summary: Naturally, if he went to the strongest team, he wouldn't lose. He would learn. He would get better. But was it really was he needed?

Pairings: Well, it's a mystery, isn't it? (:

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis. It sucks, ne?

**Also, I am beta-ing ISeeYouStalk's 'Baby' it's a Tezuka/Fuji story, and I absolutely **_**love**_** it, so go on! Check it out ^^**

/-/-/-/

Echizen Ryoma's Adventure

Ryoma sighed, collapsing to the ground. That had to be one of the most _exhilarating_ matches he had ever played. It was different. Strange. And… he had… lost. Which, had basically sucked for Ryoma. Murmuring out a quiet "Kuso," as he stared at the tennis ball. "It should've landed on the other side," he glared.

It wasn't fair. And although tennis wasn't about luck, the fact that the wind had _randomly_ changed its course to blow the tennis ball to his side, was a mystery. And Ryoma wouldn't settle for that. Apparently, neither would Niou. "Brat, we need another game soon," because, obviously, Niou wouldn't like to win his match on the fact that the _wind_ had changed. It just wasn't logical.

Ryoma pouted as the referee called out "Game, set match. Niou Masaharu- " Ryoma tuned the scoring out. He didn't want to hear. And the cheers rang out. Ryoma risked a glance to the crowds, noticing that Yagyuu was present, as well as Yukimura-buchou and Sanada. He looked again, and saw Kirihara Akaya gripping the fence for dear life, looking like he wanted to play tennis with them as well.

Come to think of it, wasn't Ryoma going to play the seaweed head to- "Yukimura-buchou!" Ryoma winced, hearing the whine in the boy's voice. "He's playing me next!" And a childish grin added. "I'm going to _win_." Ryoma glared. What did he say? Stepping up, and getting off of the ground that he was sitting on, Ryoma walked silently towards the green eyed boy.

"Excuse me?" He used a low tone, hoping that it masked his obvious unhappiness with the statement the boy had said. Said boy stopped tugging on Yukimura's jacket sleeve, and he whipped around to face Ryoma, a smirk going onto his face.

"I'm going to win." He moved him arm, as if it was an apparent sentence. "It's going to be easy." And Ryoma glared. _Fuck you_. His thoughts echoed through his head, mentally stabbing the boy in front of him.

Instead of kicking the boy in the shin, Ryoma settled for a smirk, masking his emotions again, now that he was off the courts. "Mada mada…" he paused, looking over Kirihara. "dane." And he strolled over to the Ponta machine, paying, and disappearing within the crowds of people, barely hearing the Kirihara boy saying something along the lines of 'Buchouu, did you hear what he said to me?'.

/-/-/-/

It was obvious, the next morning, that people were talking about him. And staring. And glaring. And, any other form of gossiping they could do to him. Afterall, when he walked into the room, it got quiet- the second day in a row. Apparently, according to the rumors he heard while passing by other classes, he was still a cheater in tennis.

"Stupid," Ryoma muttered to himself, "No one cheats to _lose_." Because Ryoma had, in fact, lost in his game to Niou. But he _had_ won against Kirihara 7-5, walking out of the courts with a few bruises, and hearing the complaining, annoying boy.

By the end of school, Ryoma had decided to take the bus, skipping practice, he decided to take a short nap. Being awoken by the annoying bus driver, he blinked, looking out the window. Where… was he? Getting off the bus, and stretching his arms, he looked at the sign next to him. "Seishun… Gakuen?" What the fuck was that? Deciding on a whim to look inside, he strolled over to where he could hear the sounds of tennis balls hitting racquets.

Well, they were… good. Definitely _not_ amateurs. "Hmm," Ryoma hummed with appreciation. Almost as good as Rikkaidai, but still, "Mada mada," and Ryoma walked closer to get a better look at their training methods.

"What?" Ryoma looked on in confusion. Were those people… running with _fear_ in their eyes? And what was that _thing_ over by the coach? A pile of jersey's? "EH?" Ryoma looked closer, hoping his eyes were deceiving him. The pile consisted of _people_. All kneeling over in some type of tormented position.

"What…" Ryoma passed, trying to find a word to describe them. "Freaks." And Ryoma strolled in on their practice, acting like he was supposed to be there. Afterall, if you get lost, you just pretend like you know where you are, right?

/-/-/-/

**A/N: Okay, so you guys probably hate me for not writing the pairing. Or the match between Niou and Ryoma, or between Ryoma and Kirihara. And you probably hate me for not writing this longer. But it really did need to stop here, so the next chapter can be about Ryoma and Seigaku.**

**Also, I'm beta-ing ISeeYouStalk's 'Baby' fanfiction. Perfect Pair. You should go check it out. Review, and chapters might be longer (: (hint hint).**

Next Chapter: Ryoma and Seigaku. What the heck is Inui Juice? And who's that smiling guy that keeps on staring at him like… that? Also;; at Rikkaidai! Is Ryoma being targeted by jealous students, and is _no one_ on the tennis team doing anything about it? What?


	4. Echizen Ryoma's Visits

Losing Balance

Summary: Naturally, if he went to the strongest team, he wouldn't lose. He would learn. He would get better. But was it really was he needed?

Pairings: Not telling. MWAHAHAHAHA.

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis. It sucks, ne?

**LOL. SINCE I am the GODDESS of the story writing, I chose to type up THIS chapter, today. But, sadly, it's going to be really short… I need to watch Glee, and my day was wasted with me being sick and all that. –sniffle-**

Echizen Ryoma's Visits**  
**

/-/-/-/

"Excuse me, but do you go to this school?" Ryoma blinked and stared at the boy that had just asked the question. He then pointedly looked down at his outfit. Yep, that was definitely a Rikkaidai tennis jersey he was wearing, not a Regular yet, though. Ryoma scratched his head, and gave an annoyed glare. "Ah, never mind…" the other boy trailed off, looking around with an embarrassed grin.

"Momo-chaan~" A voice called, along with a jumping blur, and a few thuds. "I was looking for you!" The childish red headed boy was half dancing, just jumping up and down where he was. "And _who_ is this?" he asked dramatically, staring at Ryoma in wonder. "He's so adorable!"

Ryoma's eyes widened and he gave a small tug to his cap. He wasn't adorable.

"Ah…I have no data on him," a voice sounded behind Ryoma, and he heard a few collective gasps, along with people saying 'no data?'. "I must investigate soon!" The glasses wearing guy walked away, talking to himself. Umm, okay? What? Ryoma was utterly confused, staring at the people in front of him.

So, this is… Seigaku?

"What are you all doing, slacking off?" Ryoma saw people jump up and straighten themselves out, each trying to give out an explanation as to why they weren't practicing. The excuses mostly consisted of 'Little boy here' and 'Cute distraction'. Ryoma glared at his feet. He _wasn't_ cute.

"Rikkaidai?" a voice piped up behind the scary brunette, and a few murmurs of 'stupid Arai' were spoken. "Like that seaweed haired boy that cam a week ago, and ruined our whole practice?" The scary brunette's glasses glinted, and other people around Ryoma shivered slightly.

"Thirty laps."

Ryoma looked up, wide eyed. _Excuse me?_ "I don't even go to-" He was cut off with a sharp glare. "I mean… thirty laps, yeah…" and he jogged over to the other people running in circles, all the while, cursing a certain 'seaweed head'. Kirihara was definitely going to pay for this.

"Saa, what's a little boy doing here?" and Ryoma all but growled at the new voice. "What a cute little-" Ryoma looked up to glare at the boy talking, only to get laughed at. "_What a cute little child_." And then, Ryoma did something he had stopped doing a while ago; he pouted at the smiling boy. Ryoma was feeling aghast that he had been called a child… and cute- by the _same person_. In the _same sentence_.

Frowning, Ryoma sped up to get away from the rude boy behind him. "BURNI-" And Ryoma decided that he would _never_ sleep on the bus again. Even if he was really tired. Seigaku was crazy. Absolutely crazy, and Ryoma needed a distraction to get out of this insanity that was Seigaku.

_I think Karupin needs some cat toys from the store_.

And he sighed, running away from the crazy, annoying, rude, loud, scary team. If it wasn't already decided, it was now. _No one sane went to Seigaku._

/-/-/-/

**A/N: short. Sorry, but I kinda sorta made the paragraphs… longer? AHAHAHAH. Well, remember: I can be a beta-reader. ALSO**

****IMPORTANT NOTICE****

**If you want to give me any fic requests, or anything like that, tell me! Also, if you want really long chapters, TELL ME THAT TOO. Cause ionno… losing inspiration for stories is bad. And school sucks all inspiration out of you- like a black hole.**

**A creepy, stalkerish, EVIL black hole.**

**On a side note, did you know that Penguins poop out Crepes? No? Good. Cause they don't.**

**Next Chapter: Echizen Ryoma's Classmates. Ryoma is being targeted by jealous students- again, this time, he's IGNORED! And, is NO ONE on the tennis team going to help him? Not even Yukimura?**


End file.
